


The Road to Stockholm

by pastelfeathers



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: Into Darkness - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark!Kirk, Eventual!Dubious Consent, Eventual!Stockholm Syndrome, Eventual!Strength Kink, Kinkmeme, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-26
Updated: 2013-05-26
Packaged: 2017-12-13 00:13:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/817696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelfeathers/pseuds/pastelfeathers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on <a href="http://strek-id-kink.livejournal.com/1695.html?thread=3999#t3999">a prompt</a> on the Into Darkness kinkmeme.</p>
<p>AU.</p>
<p>The expedition to capture Khan on Kronos goes horribly wrong and Kirk is the only one who survives. Khan saves him in exchange for assistance in bringing down Admiral Marcus. Feelings and shit happen along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Road to Stockholm

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to the lovely people/betas who have encouraged me and listened to my ramblings thus far. :)
> 
> There are will be major spoilers and brief mentions of major character deaths as specified in the prompt, if you're uncomfortable with this, please be warned. I do not enjoy writing non-consensual sex, as such, all future sex scenes will likely be consensual or dubious consent at best.
> 
> Finally, I have a superficial knowledge of the Star Trek universe and may therefore get details wrong, if you see any major discrepancies, I'd be much obliged if you let me know. :D

 

Khan knew the woman was as good as dead before she finished stepping out of the small craft the Enterprise had sent out to capture him.

He cared little about her existence, but as she was one of the few individuals who possessed information about his family, Khan felt he should at least observe the proceedings. Even though Captain Sulu's message assured him that there must be other humans hiding in the small craft.

As such, Khan merely watched with idle detachment as she spoke to the Klingons, amused to find that her accent was simply atrocious. Her pretty throat was much too slim and delicate for the harsh consonants of the Klingon dialect. He knew he wasn't the only one who had been observing the woman’s lithe neck when the leading Klingon suddenly grabbed her by the throat and held on tight.

She was fierce, he will give her that much, but there was little ferocity can grant you when your throat was slit so effectively. The bloody gash marred her smooth caramel skin, streaking it with bright streams of red. She went down grasping desperately at her throat, fingers clumsy against the onslaught of blood.

Khan idly noted the sudden flurry of activity from within the craft as the other four occupants came dashing out, phasers blazing like the death of a few Klingons could bring their female compatriot back. However, a few exchanges made it readily apparent that grief has rendered their inferior reflexes even more inefficient.

A well-aimed knife took out the first man.

A tag team effort brought down the other.

The Vulcan fell to same Klingon who slew his beloved in such cold blood. He lied down touchingly beside the female with a tenderness that bespoke more than any combination of loving words, even as blood poured copiously from the back wound he had sustained.

It was all very disappointing.

Highly trained professionals indeed.

Khan watched the last of his human captors freeze momentarily at the sight of the Vulcan and the female laying tranquilly in the puddle of their joined blood. The human seemed mesmerized by the combination of red and green seeping gradually into exotic patterns on the ground. The blond hair was familiar and when the man turned fully, Khan found the corner of his mouth lifting in amusement.

Then he was springing into action, jumping with a deadly elegance to the rescue of the man who had single-handedly stopped his attack on Starfleet Command.

He dispatched the first responders to his presence with graceful indifference and easily brought down the two hovering Klingon crafts with two fast blasts. That accomplished, he focused on quickly covering the distance between his original spot and the blond, killing those that dared to impede his progress.

He shot the Klingon directly on top of the battered human and threw a knife into the throat of the other Klingon that rushed to aid his fallen comrade. Khan used his momentum to dart between the two collapsing bodies and fired at the few Klingons still moving clumsily forward in an attempt to capture the blond. A few more minutes of such plebeian combat and the last of the Klingon patrollers fell with a heavy grunt.

Khan pulled out his dagger from a prone body and wiped it roughly against the Klingon’s clothes before sheathing it. He turned around, expecting to see the blond's crumpled form somewhere amidst the cooling bodies, only to realize the human had disappeared.

He raised an eyebrow.

Judging by the glimpse of the extensive injuries he had seen, the man could not have gone far, that he was able to move at all came as a surprise. Khan jogged to the human's last seen location and knelt down to observe the dirt. He eyed the scant trail of blood stains leading behind a nearby stone wall with a small amount of begrudging admiration.

He debated for a moment if he should walk into what was obviously a trap.

But the thought of his family lying unknown in those torpedoes prompted him into action and he strode quickly along the path to find-

-an armed phaser in his face.

The injured Starfleet commander had propped himself against the wall and was using both hands to stabilize his aim.

Khan waited for the other to fire.

When it failed to happen after a few seconds, he found himself impatiently waiting for the other to act.

Instead, the human only swallowed thickly, likely tasting the blood from a cut on the corner of his mouth judging by the sudden grimace. Khan idly wondered if the blond knew he had a pretty mouth. Lips wet from when the human had licked at it last and fuck if the baser part of Khan did not want a taste. He indulged briefly in the idea of touching the human before he dismissed it.

He had more important matters to occupy his time.

"I am Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise. On behalf of The Federation, I am here to facilitate your return to Earth so you can stand trial for the grievous crimes you have committed."

"Will you now Captain?" Khan could not help but drawl as Kirk swayed on his feet. He lowered his gaze meaningfully to the splotch of red blossoming steadily on the blond’s left side, silently questioning the other's physical ability to do anything.

To his credit, Kirk did not take the bait. Instead, he only grunted and shoved the phaser closer to Khan's face. "Will you come willingly?"

"And if I do not?"

"I will have to take you by force."

Khan gave the blond a mildly incredulous look.

"How do you hope to accomplish such a feat Mr. Kirk? By bleeding liberally on me?"

Kirk ground his teeth and his fingers spasmed against the trigger.

"The phaser is set to stun, so I can assure you I am more than capable of-"

"What about the torpedoes?" Khan interrupted.

Kirk looked slightly thrown by the sudden change in topic before he visibly steadied himself. "That’s right, the tor-"

"How many?"

"Wha-"

"How many torpedoes, _Captain_?"

Kirk gave him a rather baleful stare, apparently put out by Khan’s consistent interruptions. "Enough to send you off in a nice fiery pyre so I suggest you comply now-"

" ** _How many?_** " Khan growled out.

The anger in his voice must have startled the other because the blond went silent and watched him under his eyelashes for a moment. Khan looked back, he was not sure what the human saw but whatever it was prompted the blond to tighten that pretty mouth before answering reluctantly.

"Seventy-two."

Some of the tension Khan had been carrying on his shoulder eased and he gave the other a curt nod.

"I surrender."

The Captain shot him a suspicious look in return and tightened his hold on his phaser. "Just like that?"

Khan gave a small quirk of his lips, knowing the gesture made his features more shark-like than reassuring. "Indeed."

Kirk observed him with those memorable blue eyes for a brief second, then he lowered his arm sharply and shot Khan straight in the chest.

Khan slammed against the ground with a choked growl and as his vision faded into darkness, he thought distantly to himself that Captain Kirk is a little _bitch_.

\---

He awoke a minute or so later to the sound of Kirk’s frantic voice.

"Mr. Sulu, I have sedated the fugitive Harrison but I require assistance, Spock and Lieutenant Uhura are-"

The blond broke off with a sharp intake of breath and when he continued a moment later, the frustration in his voice was starkly distinguishable.

"Mr. Sulu. Can you _hear_ me?"

"Bones? Are you there?"

Static then abrupt silence.

"Is **anyone** there?"

Khan chose that moment to sigh and shift, ignoring the sudden scrambling he heard until he came face to face with his companion. His chest was still slightly sore but, even as he raised a hand to rub at it, the pain was already receding.

But the vague sense of amusement did not.

Khan would mock the human for his failed attempt at exacting petty revenge if he did not have more pressing matters, such as the status of his family, precariously held on board a craft with an unresponsive crew. He pinned the blond with a hard stare at the last thought.

Kirk had lowered himself onto the ground during the precious little time Khan had been unconscious. He was still propped against the wall though he was now notably armed with a communicator instead of the blasted phaser.

"Shit."

Khan raised an eyebrow and said drily. "If you had allowed me to explain. I would have assured you the ineffectiveness of inferior weapons such as stunning phasers against my superior genome."

Kirk watched him with a wide eyed gaze and a pinched mouth.

They observed each other for a moment longer, silently reassessing their initial opinions of one another, before Khan dropped his gaze to the unresponsive communicator in Kirk’s hands.

"Is there a problem Mr. Kirk?"

When no immediate response came, Khan redirected his gaze back to the human and continued in a quieter voice.

"Did you perhaps lose contact with your crew?"

Kirk ground his teeth audibly, forming a fist with a free hand as if he was going to throw a wild punch before the human abruptly grabbed the phaser and pointed it at Khan’s chest again.

"What did you do to them?"

"Me?"

"I know you did something, if you hurt-"

"Captain Kirk," Khan interrupted irritably, "I have been with you this entire time. How could I have harmed any of your crew?"

Kirk grimaced at the valid logic but stubbornly pressed on, "You have resources and we both know you’re brilliant. You must have-"

"I assure you, while I am flattered at your faith in me. I did not harm your crew." _Yet_ , Khan added silently in his mind.

"Then what happened? You expect me to believe that not a single member of my crew has enough time to respond?"

Khan slid his gaze up to a distant point in the sky, watching with a growing frown as the dust whirled crazily in the distance. He suddenly suspected with a dark clarity what tragedy must have befallen upon the loyal crew of the USS Enterprise.

"Marcus," he growled.

Kirk seemed hesitant about this sudden change in topic. "Admiral Marcus?"

"Yes." Khan rose to his feet suddenly, ignoring Kirk’s protests and began to quickly stride away from the human. If his suspicions were correct, and it was, he no longer sees any advantage in surrendering to the blond, pretty though he may be.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

Khan slowed and threw Kirk a sharp frown over his shoulder. "I would think it obvious that I am leaving."

"I’m holding a phaser!"

"A laudable accomplishment, but one that has no bearing on my decision to leave the vicinity before your Admiral arrives."

Kirk’s gaze widened quickly in surprise then narrowed in uncertainty. “Why would Admiral Marcus-?”

Khan gave the incapacitated captain a grin, full of teeth and dark promises, just to see those expressive blue eyes shutter defensively into blankness.

"Why do you think," he paused then added mockingly, " _Captain?_ "

And just like that, the communicator in the human’s hands beeped to life.

"Captain Kirk, this is Admiral Marcus. What is your location?"

Khan made use of Kirk's momentary surprise to quickly scale a nearby wall. He paused when he realized that the blond had not even attempted to stop him and decided against scaling the next wall. Instead, he sidled against the rough bricks and carefully listened as Kirk’s suddenly weary voice echoed out.

"Admiral. Have you come to supervise Harrison's capture?"

"There is to be no arrest Captain. I thought I had made myself clear that you are to bomb the son of a bitch as soon as you have locked onto his location."

Khan heard the blond draw in a shaky breath before he spoke again. "You did sir. But as Federation regulations-"

" **Damn** the rules, Kirk. Where are you?"

"On Kronos, sir."

There was a thoughtful pause.

"Is the fugitive Harrison with you?"

"No sir," Kirk didn't sound very apologetic about that, "I was in pursuit before your call."

"You will **leave** this moment. Go back to the Enterprise, and **fire** the damn torpedoes like you were told." A heavy pause descended before the Admiral's voice came back, dark with fury. "Do you understand me _Captain_?"

"I do sir."

"Good, as soon as you are out of harm's way, direct your crew to unleash the torpedoes."

Khan growled low in his throat and quickly darted around the crumbling wall, intent on taking away the communicator and conversing with the Admiral. He does not know yet what it was that he will say, only that he cannot allow that bastard to take away the only beings he cared about.

He glared darkly at the blond as the human came back into view and was halfway to Kirk's slumped form when the human spoke, resolution like steel in his voice.

"I can't do that sir."

Khan stopped, mind racing with the implication of Kirk's words and he raised both his eyebrows at the human, silently questioning the blond's actions.

Admiral Marcus needed no such tact. "Excuse me _Mr. Kirk_? Are you **refusing** an explicit directive from your commanding officer?"

"Yes, sir, I believe-"

" _Fuck_ your beliefs."

The communicator abruptly disconnected, leaving Khan to stare unblinkingly at the blond's tense form with a thoughtful gaze.

"Don't get me wrong," Kirk began slowly. "I still want you to be punished for what you did to Commander Pike," his voice broke at the man's name, "but I won't resort to your level to do so."

Khan watched the other's tense form carefully. "Your Admiral is not the man you think he is."

The blond shot him a ruefully attractive grin. "That much has been made obvious to me yes," he paused, "I had thought it was only the grief-" He cut himself off and a solemn but oddly comfortable hush fell across the clearing.

Eventually, the human cleared his throat. "What's so special about those torpedoes?"

But before Khan even began to think about how he could answer such a loaded question, the communicator reconnected and the Admiral's cold voice echoed out.

"I am now in possession of the torpedoes." Marcus paused to let this information sink in, "and I am asking you, one last time, what are your coordinates?"

Kirk shot the communicator a surprised look before his gaze narrowed thoughtfully. "My crew simply relinquished the torpedoes?”

A long and tense silence followed.

"What happened with my crew Admiral?" Suddenly, the blond's voice is like frosty thunder, deadly and wild.

“An unfortunate necessity of the occupation Mr. Kirk, but we can discuss that at a later time. What is your location and how far is the fugitive Harrison from your position?”

Kirk swallowed audibly, raising his eyes to stare blankly into Khan's own cold gaze.

“Is my crew hurt, Admiral?”

“Captain Kirk. You will report your location to me this instantly.”

“My crew Admiral-“

“ **Fuck** your crew Captain! Tell me your coordinates! This is an **order**.”

“Is it the Klingons-“

Khan repressed the urge to sigh. The human was presented with a clear picture of betrayal and he still clung to impossibilities.

“No Captain,” the Admiral’s voice was solemn now, “Your crew have been...detained.”

“...detained,” repeated Kirk flatly.

“Yes. They disobeyed my express orders to fire the damn torpedoes. Now, tell me where you are so I can **fire** the damn things.”

“Sir, my crew was only following my orders. I accept full responsibility for this transgression but my crew had nothing to do with it.”

“What are your **coordinates**?”

“Admiral, my crew-”

“For fuck's sakes Kirk! Your crew is no longer a concern Kirk. Now tell me **where** you are so I can do the job that you were sent here to do!”

Kirk went silent.

Khan lowered his head as a thought occurred to him. If he could find out the coordinates of the Admiral’s craft, he could transport himself aboard via a disused bunker and wake his crew. After that, commandeering the USS Vengeance would be simply a matter of time. That in mind, Khan quickly resumed his walk to Kirk's side, only to watch with fury and horror as the blond suddenly threw the communicator a few feet away and blast it with his phaser.

“NO!” He shouted and watched in frustration as the damn thing blew up.

The human was eying the small resultant fire expressionlessly and remained silent even as Khan stomped the rest of his way to Kirk's prone body.

“What have you done?” Khan seethed.

The blond said nothing, though he does slowly raise his gaze up and away from the destroyed communicator.

Khan met the human’s gaze, he knew his own stare was furious and for a second, he was sorely tempted to take his anger out on the blond. But the desolation in Kirk’s eyes startled him, however briefly, and he consciously held back his anger.

Kirk’s eyes conveyed inconsolable loss.

The same grief he saw in his own eyes when one of his own crew was harmed.

Multiplied a hundredfold.

Khan suddenly knew with a strangely intense certainty that, whatever grief the blond had felt upon the death of his comrades to the Klingons just a few moments prior, it was nothing compared to the despair and guilt he felt now.

It made him even more…interesting.

Khan observed the blond for a moment longer, mentally calculating the risks and rewards of the unbidden idea that had sprung to mind. In the end, it was the distant roar of impending crafts that finalized his decision. Khan bent quickly and roughly grabbed the human by his forearms and lifted the blond into his arms, holding him bridal style.

Kirk does not protest, nor does he help, choosing instead to sprawl loosely in Khan’s grip.

With a quiet snort, Khan abruptly stood and took off at a fast sprint, acclimatizing to the Captain’s additional weight without much trouble. It took him only a moment longer to arrive at his initial observation spot and no more than a second to turn on the remote transporter.

As the gold light encircled their bodies, Khan fancied he saw the USS Vengeance peeking into view amidst the debris filled atmosphere of Kronos.

He frowned darkly and tightened his hold on Kirk.

He would rescue his crew and make the Admiral pay for daring to wake him, but there were other matters to attend to at the moment.

Khan blinked away the last vestiges of the golden light when the transport process finished and dropped the human in his arms roughly onto a nearby cot. He heard the groan of pain that his actions elicited without sympathy and chose not to help the blond in his attempts to prop himself up. Instead, Khan waited patiently as the human struggled feebly on the bed before giving up with an exhausted groan.

It was only then that he moved to pour a small glass of water for the blond, taking a small sip first to head off any questions regarding the liquid being poisoned. Kirk watched his actions with a quietly puzzled air but did not speak until he had drank all the proffered water.

"Why did you help me?"

"Would you rather that I had not?"

Kirk gave him an impressively exasperated look, all arched eyebrows and pursed mouth. "Would you answer the question?"

"I thought I had."

"No, you-" the human paused, visibly took in a deep breath and said quietly, "This changes nothing Harrison. I will bring you back to Earth to stand trial for what you did."

Khan met the blond's stubborn gaze and thought carefully about his answer.

"I do not doubt that you will try."

"So why help me?"

"I am helping you because, despite your attempt to convince me otherwise, you seem to have a conscience, Mr. Kirk."

That seemed to effectively silence the human and Khan, seeing that there was nothing to be done for the moment, made to leave. He needed to gather some basic equipment if he wanted to transfuse his blood to ensure the human's survival.

Just as he was about to step out the dingy little hut, Kirk quietly spoke again.

"Why do you want the torpedoes?"

Khan contemplated the various versions of the truth he could disclose but eventually he replied back, just as quietly.

"You will understand in good time Captain."

"Does it have something to do with the fact that until a year ago, John Harrison did not exist?"

Khan gave the human one last look before he walked out into the sunny surface of Class G planet.

"Harrison is the smokescreen Marcus created to conceal my true identity. My name is Khan."


End file.
